Buffalo Bore 44 Special 180gr JHP – Fierce Heavy Defense Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore 44 Special 180gr JHP is the fastest load in Buffalo Bore’s 44 Special lineup, leaving the muzzle at 1150 fps. A 180 grain bullet is light for this calibre, and that speed is the whole design brief: open quickly and dump energy at defensive distance. Safe in 44 Special handguns and rifles generally and in any firearm chambered for 44 Magnum, but Buffalo Bore excludes the Charter Arms Bulldog. Twenty rounds per box, item 14A/20.

• Buffalo Bore 44 Special 180gr JHP Overview
• 44 Special Hollow Point Ammo Ballistics
• Why A 180 Grain JHP Handgun Load Expands Fast
• Specifications
• Range Notes On Heavy 44 Spl Self Defense Ammunition

Buffalo Bore 44 Special 180gr JHP Overview

This is a conventional jacketed hollow point with a lead core, not a copper monolithic. That matters, because a lead core bullet driven fast is the traditional recipe for rapid, reliable expansion. Copper needs velocity to open at all; lead opens readily and this load gives it plenty of speed to do so.

At 180 grains it sits well below the 240 grain bullets a 44 Special was originally built around. Buffalo Bore made that trade deliberately. A lighter bullet at higher speed shoots a little flatter, recoils a little less, and expands a good deal more aggressively than the heavy loads in the same line.

It is loaded above standard pressure, which is why the Charter Arms exclusion exists. Standard factory 44 Special ammunition typically ambles along near 750 fps with a 246 grain bullet. This is a very different animal in the same case.

44 Special Hollow Point Ammo Ballistics

1150 fps with a 180 grain bullet works out to roughly 530 ft-lbs at the muzzle. Buffalo Bore publishes 543, which would require a shade over 1160 fps, so treat the two figures as the same load rounded differently rather than as a meaningful difference.

Either way, this is 44 Magnum adjacent performance from a case most people think of as mild. For comparison, a common 45 ACP 230 grain load makes about 370 ft-lbs and a 9mm +P around 400. This 44 Special hollow point ammo is producing meaningfully more than both while firing a considerably wider bullet.

Expect real world velocity to track barrel length. A six inch revolver will meet or beat the published number, while a two and a half inch snub will give up 100 fps or more. Since expansion depends on impact speed, that is worth knowing before you choose this over a heavier bullet for a short barrelled gun.

Why A 180 Grain JHP Handgun Load Expands Fast

A hollow point does its work by turning forward motion into width. The cavity fills on impact, hydraulic pressure forces the walls outward, and the bullet mushrooms into something considerably larger than 429 of an inch. The faster it arrives, the more violently and the more reliably that happens.

That is the case for a 180 grain JHP handgun load over a heavier bullet. A 240 grain bullet at 850 fps is at the low end of what a hollow point needs to open properly and may simply act like a round nose. A 180 at 1150 has speed to spare and will open even through heavy clothing.

The trade is depth. The Buffalo Bore 44 Special 180gr JHP will not penetrate like the 255 grain hard cast in the same line, and it is not meant to. It is a defensive load for use against a threat at close range, not a woods load for driving through a shoulder blade.

Frontal area is the quiet advantage that comes free with the calibre. Even unexpanded, a 44 bullet is making a wider hole than a 9mm or a 40 ever will, so the heavy 44 Spl self defense ammunition in this line starts ahead and finishes further ahead once it opens.

Specifications

Range Notes On Heavy 44 Spl Self Defense Ammunition

Confirm compatibility before you order. Buffalo Bore states this load is for all 44 Special handguns and rifles except the Charter Arms Bulldog, and that it is safe in anything chambered for 44 Magnum. If you carry a Bulldog, use the 44 Special 200gr hard cast wadcutter instead, which Buffalo Bore developed for all 44 Special firearms including Charter Arms.

Check your point of impact. A fixed sight 44 Special revolver is usually regulated for a 240 or 246 grain bullet, and a 180 grain bullet at 1150 fps will often print noticeably lower at 25 yards. That is a fixable problem if you know about it and an unpleasant surprise if you do not.

Recoil is brisk but not punishing. A fast expanding 44 caliber bullet this light produces a sharp push rather than the heavy shove of the 255 grain load, and in a steel framed revolver most shooters recover the sights quickly. In an alloy framed gun it is a good deal more noticeable.

Buy a box to verify and practise with something cheaper. A premium 180 grain JHP handgun load is not range fodder, so most people run inexpensive lead or plated loads for volume and shoot one box of the real thing to confirm function, recoil and zero.

Fast Expanding 44 Caliber Bullet Availability

This fast expanding 44 caliber bullet is in stock and ready to ship from MAG5 Firearms, a family owned FFL dealer in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Ammunition orders ship to most states, and local customers are welcome to pick up in the shop. If you need case quantities or another heavy 44 Spl self defense ammunition load from the Buffalo Bore catalog, call us and we will check what our distributors have on hand.

Manufacturer details are on the Buffalo Bore site. For deeper penetration compare the 44 Special 255gr hard cast Keith SWC, or for a lead free option see the 44 Special 200gr Barnes TAC-XP. You can also browse our full ammunition selection.